THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



307 



stantial, and moated round in the old style ; and he had 

 a partner to share his joys and his sorrows. But barberry 

 bushes were dotted here and there in the hedges all over 

 the farm, and to this ho attriljuted the fact of his corn 

 havinn^ suffered greatly from mildew. At tlie end of four 

 years he had to quit, in consequence of the sale of the farm, 

 and Thomas Fi-ench, Esq., of Cranley Hall, Eye, gave him 

 the offer of a farm at Witnesham, of 180 acres, at £40 a 

 year less rent than what he was then paying, and, in addi- 

 tion, an offer of a lease for 21 j-ears. This otter he em- 

 braced ; he took stock and crops at valuation, and in 1807 

 took possession of the land, which he continued to cultivate 

 fori ncfrly forty-five years. AVlien he came to the farm, 

 although IGO acres of arable land, there were but two acres 

 of white turnips grown : thej' were very small, and this 

 was about the average proportion grown by the farmers in 

 the parish. The mode of cultivating swedes was then un- 

 known iu this neighbourhood. Mr. Poppy found the white 

 turnips almost useless on his heavj'-land farm ; the roads 

 were so bad that carting them home was difficult, so that in 

 sharp winters they sometimes rotted in the field, and in 

 mild ones ran away so carl}- that there was no feed left for 

 the spring. This led him to turn his attention again to the 

 cultivation of swedes, for which, and his experiments with 

 the turnip fly, he afterwards became celebrated. The im- 

 portance of these experiments may be judged of from the 

 fact that one of the best agricultural authorities, Mr. Macro, 

 has estimated the loss by the fly to amount to oue year's 

 crop out of five or six. 



\Vhen, in 1827, the g Id medal was presented to Mr 

 Poppy by the Duke of Sussex, in the Haymarket Theatre, 

 for his endeavours to prevent the ravages of the turnip fly, 

 Sir John Sinclair introduced himself to the Suffolk farmer, 

 and did all he could to make known the nature of Mr. Pop- 

 py's experiments. 



Unfortunately for him, the promised twenty-one yeai's' 

 lease of the Witnesham farm was never executed. Mr. 

 Poppy kept on farming and improving, prices were increas- 

 ing almost every year, and in a few years he paid a heavy 

 penalty for neglecting the affair of the lease. The owner 

 of the farm and a friend visited him, and the next rent day 

 the alternative was to Mr. Poppy either to pay an advanced 

 rent or to quit. It was in vain that he pleaded his agree- 

 ment : there was no written contract. He had himself be- 

 come a family man, had expended a considerable sum in 

 improvements, aud it was not likely that another farm 

 could then be obtained, aud he had therefore to submit to 

 the demand. His case is oue among many of the folly of 

 making improvements without security. 



About this period he entered into a correspondence with 

 Arthur Young about the " scarifier," and he sent a model 

 of the instrument he had invented to the Board of Agri- 

 culture, at the time Sir John Sinclair was President; both 

 Arthur Young and Sir John highly approved of the model 

 implement, and felt sure of its gettini>: ultimatel}'- into 

 general use. Young, however, advised Mr. Poppy not to 

 take out a patent, and the result is, that at the present day, 

 scarifiers, of which his was the original type, may be seen 

 on almost every farm in this district. 



White carrots were introduced into this district by Mr. 

 Poppy. He brought the seeds from France in 1828. 

 Sauntering about Calais prior to embarkation, he saw some 

 strange roots lying on the stalls of the market-place, that 

 "looked like a hybrid between a parsnip and a carrot," and 

 heat once bought some seed to try their growth in East 

 Anglia. He was incessant in his labours to introduce man- 

 goldwurzel, biit he for a long time met with great difiicul- 

 ties in persuading farmers to grow tiiis valuable root, and 

 he di.strilnited seed, published pamphlets, and wrote letters 

 to the public journals, with the hope of getting the root 

 into general use; and there cannot be a doubt but that his 

 exertions were of great value. Mr. Coliett, ofClopton, had 

 succeeded in growing the root, but his want of knowledge 

 in storing them caused his crop to spoil. A labourer from 

 that parish brought one to Mr. Poppy as a curiosity, say- 

 ing, he " din't know what that was ; if 'twas a carrot 'twas 

 a staraming great un." Mr. Poppy has also been zealous 

 in promoting the cultivation of " millett" as a useful stall- 

 feeding plant for storing, and as a substitute lor clover. 



Mr. Poppy, in connection with a few friends in his 



neighbourhood, established the first organised Farmers' 

 Club (the Ashbocking) for the exchange and record of the 

 results of their practice. Of this club he was appropriately 

 chosen chairman, and he was especially the guiding spirit of 

 the club. His great natural abilities, extensive experience, 

 and gem-rous disposition eminently fitted him for the duties 

 he undertook. By these meetings he connected himself 

 personally and by correspondence with men of intelligence, 

 activity, and industry— that portion at least of the agricul- 

 tural body whose general knowledge and energ)' were far 

 in advance of the great majoiity of farmers of that da^', and 

 thus, directly and indirectly, he greatly aided in propelling 

 onward the art of agriculture in this county. After the 

 establishment of this club, the system of Farmers' Clutis 

 became rapidly established throughout the kingdom. Mr. 

 Puppy is not what is generally termed an educated man, 

 but his mind is one of no common calibre, and its strength 

 and rugged energy have to a great extent supplied the want 

 of educational tact. His practical suggestions have over 

 been deservedly esteemed by those who did not fear to 

 travel out of the beaten tracks. He adhered to his plans 

 with a degree of steadiness which some called obstinacy, 

 but he was always determined that his experiments should 

 have a fair trial, and all parties admit that his observations 

 are acute, correct, and judicious. 



In 18.50, our experimentalist, being nearly eighty years 

 of age, left the farm, and retired with his aged partner to a 

 small cottage that overlooks every field on the farm, the 

 cultivation of which he had so long superintended. The 

 time at which he quitted his occupation was a bad one, 

 stock and crops sold at very low prices, thereby greatly re- 

 ducing even the limited means which this aged couple had 

 to depend on for subsistence during the remainder of their 

 days. 



Charles Poppy is not like Tull, a gentleman of ancient 

 family ; nor like Stillingfleet, the grandson of a bishop ; nor 

 like Arthur Young, a Fellow of the Royal Society ; but he 

 is a practical agriculturist, who, in proportion to his means, 

 has done more, by experiment and correspondence, to ad- 

 vance the agricidtural art in this county than any other 

 man living, and as such is worthy of all honour. 



THE PROPOSED ESSEX AGRICULTURAL ASSO- 

 CIATION.— The aHjouroed meeting of the committee appoint- 

 ed to promote the establishmeut of an agricultural society in 

 the county of Essex, took place on Friday, March 26, at the 

 Shirehall, Chelmsford ; Mr. C. Du Cane, M.P , iu the chair, 

 Mr. Bramston, M.P., one of the other county members, aud a 

 considerable number of gentlemen connected with the agricul- 

 ture of the district, were present. The boo. chairman stated 

 that 34 vice-presidents at £5 Ss. each, 39 members at £29. 23. 

 each, 15] members at £1 Is. each, 24 members at £1 each, and 

 269 members at 10s. 6d. each, had been enrolled, in all 517 

 gentlemen. The surplus arising from the local fund raised 

 lor the Chelmsford Meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society 

 was about £315, and there was, therefore, a sum of £350 avail- 

 able for the inauguration and establishment of the association. 

 With regard to the rules, the chairman further stated that he 

 had prepared them, having previously received copies of those 

 governiug the Suffolk aud the Bath aud West of England 

 Societies. The hon. gentleman's code, which he read, was 

 adopted, with a few slight alterations. It provides for the 

 management of the association by a committee of 24 members, 

 chosen equally from the northern and southern divisions of the 

 county, aud that no political discussions shall be introduced 

 into the society, which is to be devoted exclusively to agricul- 

 tural objects. The meeting resolved on the appointment of a 

 secretary at a salary of £50 per annum, and Mr. W. Tutfnell 

 uudertook to act as treasurer. It was also determined, after 

 some discussion, that the first exhibition of the association 

 should be held at Chelmsford, on Tuesday, June 15, aud the 

 meeting adjouroed to March 26, for the reception of a schedule 

 of prizes to be prepared in the interim, and to be then sub- 

 mitted for approval 



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